


In Absentia

by Apotheose



Category: Villains Series - V. E. Schwab
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Found Family, post vengeful
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:33:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25886647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apotheose/pseuds/Apotheose
Summary: Come back, come back, come back
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	In Absentia

_Come back_ was the last thought Sydney Clarke had before she died, reaching for the surface, reaching for her sister. A longing that kept her going. A fear. When she came back different - _Extraordinary_ -that longing never went away until Victor. But the fear stayed.

She should’ve known from the moment that window rolled down in the rain, or the moment Victor patched up her wounds, or the moment he let her keep Dol. Should’ve known when the last thought Sydney Clarke had before Eli Ever died -before she killed him- was the same thought, echoing in the back of her head since the day she had, herself. _Come back_.

Victor pale as paper, spatters of Eli’s gore dark and shiny and wet on his bone white hands and translucent blond hair, and staring with the kind of lost surprise Sydney never thought she would see on his face. Always so sharp and calculated until that moment. Eli dying, well, Victor was never prepared for that. He only ever prepared for the hurt, or his own deaths. Over and over and over -but this was the death not of himself but of his purpose. Victor stared and Sydney knew, instantly, things would be different. 

He lied. He left. 

She waited. She waited for Dominic too. She would’ve gone on waiting if not for Mitch. A soft voice, a gentle hand on her shoulder. They couldn’t risk waiting around. EON would find them before they’d find him. Victor would leave a trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow after. After all -he needed Mitch’s search matrix. Needed money. Sydney knew Mitch rationalized for himself as much as her. The difference was the resignation. He always expected to part ways, eventually. Sydney hadn’t. She wasn’t willing to consider it.

_Come back_ , she thought, watching him go, seeing the afterimage of Serena just as much as Victor as he walked away. 

The latest place isn't the kind of hotel Victor would pick out. Mitch let her find a place. It’s just the two of them now -and Dol, always Dol, and they make a game out of trying everything on the menu. The ritzy penthouses they could never afford without Mitch’s particular skills allowing them a taste of marble and minimalism. The grimy, peeling motels nestled into the side of the interstate like a tick. This time it’s a bed and breakfast in some old historical building downtown. Not Merit. Far away. Victor ran, and maybe one day he’ll come back to Merit, but Sydney knows, with a bitterness she clings to lest she forgive too easily, it won’t be for her. 

The hostess takes them on a tour of the place before showing them their rooms. Narrow hallways with bright coats of new paint speak to the refurbishing. Sydney takes to it immediately, weak to a fixer-upper. She scratches Dol behind the ears with affection as the woman tells Mitch about the history of the building “It’s an old Victorian, we lucked out with the condition of the place when we bought it, but you can see how much work has been put into restoring it to as close to the original building we could manage.”

Mitch raises his eyebrows at Sydney and jokes, “We have experience with Victorian restoration projects too. Practically brought one back from the dead one time.”

Syd giggles despite the stretch to put that one together. Mitch leans into the puns, even as she informs him they’re called Dad Jokes now. It doesn’t stop him from making them -encourages him even. He’s not her dad. Not really. But he’s more of a father than she’s ever had and the only one willing to stick it out. Victorian. Maybe it’s good luck. Maybe it’s a sign that this time they’ll close in on Victor before he can leave again. 

They settle into their rooms, but it’s Mitch’s where they curl up with Dol and watch a movie. It feels like home. A home she chose. A home she can’t let go of, because she’s so tired of seeing the people she loves slip through her fingers. She didn’t choose Serena, but she chose Mitch. She chose Dol. She chose Victor and she chooses to give him one chance to unfuck this mess he’s made.

“Do you think you have a good read on him this time?” Mitch asks, voice soft, as the credits music rolls to a lull and fades out. Sydney doesn’t answer at first. She lays there, sweaty from the warm crush of a large dog and a larger man cushioning her on both sides. 

Sydney closes her eyes and reaches out- feels that connection stringing them together pull taut - and nods, wordless. She doesn’t want to jinx it. Doesn’t want to break it. Doesn’t want it to leave her. If there’s one thing she’s learned, it’s that nothing endures. Nothing but Sydney Clarke.

**Author's Note:**

> time to write fanfiction for the first time in 6 years lmaoooo


End file.
